It is well known in the tire manufacturing industry to "post inflate" tires following curing. As the warm tires are removed from the curing press, they are chucked onto a suitable sized chucking apparatus and inflated during the cooling period. They are then removed and moved on to further processing stations.
Heretofore in the prior art, the tires have generally been positioned horizontally, that is with their sidewalls parallel to the ground, floor or other surface supporting the machine. The tires are then "hung" in this position for a fixed period of time following which they are reversed or turned over and permitted to hang for a similar suitable period of time in that mode following which they are removed and moved on to a further processing station.
The difficulty is that these tires are very hot when removed from the curing press having been cured at a temperature in the range of from about 280.degree. F. to 400.degree. F. Positioning the tires in a horizontal mode during the post-cure operation results in deformation of the tire in many instances because of the tendency of the sidewalls to sag due to gravitational forces.
Accordingly, it is believed desirable to provide an apparatus and method for avoiding this deformation while still accomplishing the basic post-cure inflation process.